THE mayor of Ledbury is asking residents to show their support as he prepares for an epic charity trek to one of the wonders of the world.
Cllr Phillip Howells is trekking to the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru.
Tying in with his 75th birthday celebrations, Cllr Howells will be trekking to raise money for Comrades of Children Overseas, a charity he has raised money for for nearly two decades.
He said: "To celebrate my 75th birthday, I plan to be achieving a life-time ambition and supporting COCO again by trekking to the famed Machu Picchu.
"By then I expect to have completed around 320 marathons with over 100 being ultra-marathons, with a plan to retire from them probably by aged 76 having hopefully achieved a long held target of completing 333 marathons before I stop doing them.
"COCO has played a very significant part in my running and social life and has generated many happy memories – culminating with luck in Peru in a few months’ time."
COCO helps provide education to children in some of the poorest parts of the world.
Cllr Howells first began supporting them in 2003, when he ran a double marathon in South Africa in aid of the charity.
He added: "I saw this COCO advert – ‘Come and run the 56 miles Comrades Marathon for us in South Africa in June 2003’.
"I thought, what a daft idea, that’s two and a bit marathons, no way.
"So of course, six months later, aged 56 and getting sponsorship to run 56 miles to celebrate, I lined up in Pietermaritzburg with many thousands of others at 5am and just over 10 hours later in Durban I had finished my 8th marathon, my first ultra-marathon and my first event for COCO.
"During the visit we called at a nearby rural settlement, visiting iThemba Lethu, a home for orphaned babies being rehabilitated and eventually fostered and which was being part supported by COCO at the time with the money we were raising.
"It was a powerfully moving experience and a reminder of how fortunate we are in countries like ours.
"I have been a fan and supporter of COCO ever since."
For more information or to support Cllr Howells' efforts, go to coco.enthuse.com/pf/phillip-howells-7c5d1
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here